


On Death's Side

by momopichu



Series: One shot, One world [6]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood, Derpadoodles, Explicit Language, M/M, headcannon, implied mchanzo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 02:59:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8311306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momopichu/pseuds/momopichu
Summary: Overwatch, their universal peace-keeping initiative had been compromised from the very beginning. This wrinkle in their organisation was set to destroy certain individuals while turning others into humanised weapons. As it turned out, Jack Morrison had been a 'kill' target whilst Gabriel Reyes had been a 'turn-into-humanised-weapon' target. Blackwatch itself had been an experimental project aimed at completing the weaponisation of Reyes and they had succeeded for the most part - mentally and emotionally compromising him, turning him on Jack and his friends, further enhancing his skills in the covert ops...the list was endless.


  And he had fallen for it. Perhaps, a little too hard.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Un-betaed so forgive me for any obvious spelling or grammar mistakes. Hope you like it o/

_"You're fucking dead Morrison! You hear me!?" He yelled, tossing aside tables and medical instruments._ _  
_ _  
_ _There was a clatter of noise, Gabriel's head jerked up to find the source, muscles bunched in preparation. Almost instantly there was movement in the opposite direction as Jack Morrison bolted from cover. Gabriel cursed himself for getting distracted, his shotguns swung up, the thundering crack as they fired echoing across the ward. The shells hit the wall and left burning scorch marks, fuck. His shotguns clicked around empty cartridges, it would take too long to reload, he tossed them aside._ _  
_ _  
_ _"How long do you think you can play hide and seek, Morrison?" He yelled "I'm coming for you! Death is coming --"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Gabriel cut off as he sidestepped the left hook aimed directly at his temple. His own arms came around, grabbing Morrison's arm and twisting. The blonde grunted at the pain but did not back down, instead aiming a punch to Gabriel's ribs with his other hand. He huffed at the impact, not quite winded, lightning fast he changed his grip, pulling Morrison down and bringing his knee up to smash it into the other man's face. He felt bone crunch and then the blonde was tearing his arm out of Gabriel's grip as he circled away, his once picture-perfect face now marred by the broken and bloody nose._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Fuck Gab--"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Don't call me that!" He hissed. Gabriel advanced, hands balled at his sides as he prepared himself - to punch Jack Morrison to death if necessary. "You're a deadman Morrison, oh so dead. You've no idea how much I've wanted to do this."_ _  
_ _  
_ _The blonde backed off, both hands outstretched as if he meant to hold Gabriel at bay. "Gabe! Fuck, snap out of it! This isn't like you!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Then you don't know me at all."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Gabriel lunged._ _  
_ _  
_ _His hands would've come around the blonde's throat, that was the plan. Choke the life out of the man who had taken everything from him, who had thrown him into the shadows so that he himself could walk in the light, who had forced him to walk the path of blood so that he himself could keep his own damned hands_ clean _. He would never know what choking Morrison would feel like._ _  
_ _  
_ _Before his hands even closed around the blonde's throat, the ground lurched, throwing both of them up like leaves in the wind. A deep rumble thundered throughout the entire facility, not that Gabriel heard it. His head was buzzing, his eyes were bloodshot, there was nothing; nothing but the man before him, the man he must kill at all cost so that he can finally be_ free _. He didn't even know how he had come to possess such blatant bloodlust, it was like Morrison said - it wasn't like him. Gone was the true Commander that was Gabriel and in his place...was something darker. He scrambled to his feet despite the shaking ground, despite the insistent terrifying rumble and leapt at Morrison once more._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Gabe!" The blonde parried the blow, his hands came around to circle Gabriel's wrists, pulling them down and away. "Knock it off! We need to get out of here! Now!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Stop! Calling! Me! That!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _He twisted his hands free of Morrison's grip and punched the other man across the jaw, fuelled by the contact, Gabriel pursued his advantage. The blonde stumbled, retreating against the onslaught of punches that made contact with his face, his arms, his ribs and anywhere else he could not protect. Through the haze of bloodlust clouding his mind, Gabriel noticed the way the other man curled in and away, only tried to protect himself, his attacks - if he did any - were only done in an attempt to knock Gabriel out. He noticed it all, and yet the bloodlust persisted, demanded that he take Jack Morrison's life here and now._ _  
_ _  
_ _"_ I'm sorry, Gabe. _"_ _  
_ _  
_ _The bloodied blonde dodged the next blow that would've most likely caved in his windpipe. Ducking and lunging, he grabbed Gabriel by his middle and pushed with all his might. Gabriel grunted as his back hit a surprisingly soft cushioned surface. Before he could recover, Morrison was wrenching away and slamming the cover of the Cradle close._ _  
_ _  
_ _The Cradle, a highly experimental piece of tech, it was originally designed to further medical research and provide unparalleled advances in human tissue and cell regeneration - for all it was shaped like a well rounded coffin. Gabriel pounded against the plexiglass that acted as the Cradle's doors. Shatter and shock absorbent, they barely budged under his powerful strikes. Morrison was locking the Cradle doors, bloody hands working the clasps deftly before moving onto the console beside the Cradle. His blue eyes were flashing, dancing across the keyboard and then the holo-screen as he typed in commands. Gabriel heard the machinery flare into life as the Cradle became airtight and then - self sustaining._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Don't think you can lock me up in here Morrison!" Gabriel snarled, fists beating against the glass. "This isn't going to save you from death!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"You're right." The blonde said, slamming the final command into the console."You're right. It won't save me from death -_ but at least it'll save you _."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Gabriel paused in his struggle. He looked at Morrison - no - Jack, really_ looked _at him. He was backing away from the Cradle now, standing tall even as the facility lurched around him. And the bloodlust within Gabriel - suddenly draining away, like water down a drain and he was finally_ seeing _. Seeing the wounds inflicted to the bloody and bruised form, seeing the damage to the ward, seeing the crumbling facility that walled them on all sides. Fuck. Gabriel renewed his struggle against the Cradle's doors._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Jack!" Gabriel cried. Fuck, what had happened to him? He couldn't remember half of what happened let alone how he had come to this point in time. Something was wrong, had been wrong since the beginning - and he had failed to see it. And now he was paying the price. "Jack! Dammit, lemme out!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _But Jack Morrison didn't seem to hear him, or if he did; he chose not to. Instead, the bloody and bruised blonde had backed up to lean against one of the still standing tables, head tilted to the air as the soft cornflower blue eyes drifted close. His mouth was moving silently as blood dribbled freely down his chin. Was it...a prayer?_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Fuck it Jack! Open the Cradle! Now!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _And then those blue eyes were on him, they weren't the soft blue eyes that Gabriel had come to recognise, they weren't the hopeful blue eyes of a Strike Commander who played Hero for the public...Hell, they weren't even the gentle blue of the man he had once called his lover._ _  
_ _  
_ _No. They were a clear crystalline blue, so piercing, so sharp that he felt as if he were being cut to a thousand pieces before them._ _  
_ _  
_ _"_ Hey Gabe... _" Jack's voice was ringing, crystal clear in Gabriel's ear despite the chaos that raged around them, "_ I'll always be on your side _."_ _  
_ _  
_ _The first of the flaming debris caught Jack between the shoulder blades, knocking the blonde to the floor. Gabriel's cry was silenced as the rest of the ward followed, drowning the body of Jack Morrison in a coffin of flame and stone. The Cradle was knocked by more debris, the glass holding firm against the avalanche. He yelled as the Cradle hit the floor, the machinery's buzz droning in his ears as the Cradle fought to sustain its occupant. Systems were strained past their limits, the plexiglass heated up, biotic emitters within the Cradle flared into life, cocooning Gabriel in their golden glow. He felt as if he was being burnt to bits and then tossed into an icy lake all within a matter of seconds. His hands, his arms felt like an oozing mess, he was inhaling smoke and breathing out smoke, his throat was sore and aching from his cries._ _  
_ _  
_ _He had killed Jack Morrison._ _  
_ _  
_ _..._ _  
_ _  
_ _He didn't know how long...Perhaps it was an eternity, perhaps a few scant seconds. But when the shuddering of the Swiss Headquarters finally came to a halt, he did not crawl from the Cradle. No - he drifted from the glass coffin, through the little cracks that had given way between the doors of the Cradle, he floated out like a tendril of smoke. No - he_ was _a tendril of smoke. He drifted along the ruins then, confused, disoriented, searching for that which he had so agonisingly cried out for. His smoke circled around a bloody hand that lay revealed amongst the wreckage. Caressing it, stroking it, as if begging for it to react, to move._ _  
_ _  
_ _It did not._ _  
_ _  
_ _The Reaper had come and his name was Gabriel Reyes..._ _  
_ _  
_ _....Reaper..._ _  
_ _  
_ _.Rea..._ _  
_ _  
_ _......es..._ _  
_ _  
_ _..Re..._  
  
"REYES! WAKE UP!"  
  
Gabriel jerked awake in the medical ward. Grumbling, he swiped a tired hand down his sweat soaked face as he glowered at the hazel eyes of the gunslinger before him. Jesse McCree, gunslinger, cowboy and former student of Gabriel Reyes held his ground - returning glare for glare. Heaving a long sigh, Gabriel dropped his head back onto the pillows, plonking an arm across his eyes to protect them from the harsh clinic lights.  
  
"How long?" He croaked.  
  
"Three hours," Jesse answered. "Doc said to let ye'rest but...didn't seem like ye'were gettin' much."  
  
Gabriel snorted. The dream - no - the _memory_ was fresh in his mind, had been ever since he had gotten out of Talon's hands. Which reminds him...  
  
"The treatment?" He asked.  
  
Jesse was sorting through bottles of pills on his bedside table, he picked up a new one, scrutinising the label as he answered, "Far from complete. Whatever those Talon bastards did to'ye, they did it well."  
  
Gabriel huffed, twisting on the bed so that he laid on his side with his back to the gunslinger. Ever since the disaster at the Swiss Headquarters, Gabriel Reyes had been drifting in and out of time, even now his mind could not exactly recall what happened after the incident but with some help from his former student and a lot of digging around the archives, he finally had some concrete idea - and perhaps even some memories - to piece together a picture of what had happened before it all went to shit.  
  
Overwatch, their universal peace-keeping initiative had been compromised from the very beginning. How it was compromised was still very much a mystery but they were getting to the bottom of it - eventually. This wrinkle in their organisation had led to a sequence of events that involved a series of mind-games designed to destroy certain individuals while turning others into humanised weapons. As it turned out, Jack Morrison had been a 'kill' target whilst Gabriel Reyes had been a 'turn-into-humanised-weapon' target. Blackwatch itself had been an experimental project aimed at completing the weaponization of Reyes and they had succeeded for the most part - mentally and emotionally compromising him, turning him on Jack and his friends, further enhancing his skills in the covert ops...the list was endless.  
  
And he had fallen for it. Perhaps, a little _too_ hard.  
  
Blackwatch or _Talon_ as they were now known to be, had turned Gabriel into a killing machine, but back then they could not completely control him. Angered by this they had attempted to kill both him and Morrison in the Swiss base, sadly - Gabriel had survived. Even more unfortunate was the fact that he had survived, and gained new abilities. Immediately, Talon had swooped in once more like flies around a carcass, vowing to continue their efforts in turning him into their best weapon.  
  
It had taken years and a newly formed band of Heroes to free Gabriel and bring him back to his senses - and here was where 'the treatment' came in. The _treatment,_ as everyone liked to call it, was Doctor Angela Ziegler's solution to treating his still highly unstable mind - clearing it of all Talon influence and allowing Gabriel to finally act of his own accord. It was also an _attempt_ at treating what the Cradle had done to him in the flames of the Swiss Headquarters. But Gabriel knows, from the hushed conversations between the scientists, from the concerned look of the Doctor, that what the Cradle had done cannot be so easily undone. Honestly, he didn't mind all that much.  
  
Being a wraith had its perks, teleportation was one, not dying to a bullet to the chest was another. Gabriel raised a hand, watching as black smoke coated and swarmed around it, the same black smoke that had stroked and caressed a bloody hand in the midst of hell. It was another reason why he hadn't pushed for the cure of his abilities. This ability, this power was Jack's gift to him. Another part of his mind argues otherwise, clamouring that the power was nothing but a curse. But if he knew anything about Jack - from what little was left of him in his fragmented memories - he knew Jack would not have intended the ability to be a curse. After all...  
  
" _... I'll always be on your side._ "  
  
\-----------------  
  
"Route 66?"  
  
"Nothin'. Deadlock's been cleared out and survivin' members know nothin'."  
  
"And Dorado?"  
  
"Same thing. Los Muertos was dealt fast and clean. No witnesses or any other accounts for that matter."  
  
"So that leaves..."  
  
"If you're chasing that anonymous tipper again..." Gabriel interjected, lounging in the doorway of the meeting room. "Try Helix Security, I heard the guy has a thing for oversized weapons with a lot of boom."  
  
All eyes turned to fix on him. To his own credit, Gabriel held his ground even under the slightly hostile looks of some of the members - he can't exactly blame them; up until right before his treatment he was still trying to kill them, all of them.  
  
"Reyes," Winston grunted by way of greeting.  
  
Gabriel nodded his head at the scientist's attempt at being civil - no point in giving the rest of the team an excuse to tear his throat out. Walking up to the gathering, he noticed one of the newest members inch open a space between herself and her friend. Hana 'D.Va' Song and Lucio Correia dos Santos, by far the two youngest heroes the world had ever seen were at the same time, international stars. They were young enough that their ideals were not as fixed as some of the older members, but nevertheless - both had seen much, _too_ much, for their age. Gabriel smiled his thanks at Hana as he sidled into the seat beside her, Lucio raised his hand and Gabriel gladly returned the fist-bump. On the other side of the table, Reinhardt and Hanzo were glaring metaphorical daggers at him.  
  
Gabriel sniffed. Reinhardt had never liked him, he supposed it was too much difference in personality that in turn, grated on each other's nerves. The old crusader was the literal representation of a knight in shining armour complete with the boisterous and couldn't-hurt-a-fly attitude. As for Hanzo Shimada, Gabriel had yet to figure out what his 'deal' was. He guessed that it was probably because the elder Shimada was friends with the two youngest members and wanted to protect them from him, that or because McCree had been spending more time with his old mentor instead of the archer recently...Gabriel was pretty convinced it was a bit of both...but most likely the latter.  
  
"Ahem," Winston grunted, drawing attention back to the front of the table. "If we're quite settled...Helix Security you say?"  
  
"You read the report Winston," Gabriel said, "The tipper's rifle fits the description of the Heavy Pulse kind, the one we used to have back in Grand Mesa. But the rockets attached to it?" He shook his head. "We never had that attachment."  
  
"He's right about the rifle," Torbjorn muttered, stroking his thick beard. "Worked on it m'self. And he's not wrong about the rockets either, Helix Security specialises in artillery based weapons - they could've developed those kind'a attachments."  
  
"If I may," Athena interjected over the speakers "My archives state that Watchpoint: Grand Mesa had been given to Helix Security International by the UN after Overwatch's shut down. A year ago, the facility suffered an attack from an unknown individual whereby a number of gadgets and a new model of Pulse Rifle disappeared."  
  
Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, he had no doubt the smug look of triumph on his face was driving the elder Shimada up the wall if his deepened scowl was any indication. At the head of the table, Winston was adjusting his glasses uncomfortably as he examined the evidence and intel the team had compiled. Gabriel didn't envy his headache one bit.  
  
The _anonymous tipper_ , as the team had come to call him, had been a source of both irritation and exuberance ever since his appearance almost six months ago. The tipper had a habit of dropping tips vital to the growth of the new Overwatch team, whether it be terrorist activity, intel or even supply drops. However his biggest tip-off had led to the acquisition of important Talon files and hence the recapture of one Gabriel Reyes. And honestly, the team was at a lost - if an anonymous, _ambiguous_ tipper could get ahold of highly-classified Talon intel, there was no telling what else he could get up to. Winston had made it Overwatch's business to find out exactly who this tipper was and if he was _truly_ on their side.  
  
"I can get into contact with Helix Security," McCree said, sifting through another pile of papers. "Pharah - Fareeha Amari - if y'remember, works for them. She still remembers me, so it should just be a matter of calling and arranging a chat."  
  
"Thank you McCree," Winston grunted, heaving a sigh of relief, "We don't have much else to go on so we'll leave that for now." Lifting a great hand, the gorilla sifted through the documents displayed on his table before selecting one, clearing his throat, Winston's voice turned strict as he continued his briefing. "As you all know Talon has been increasing their activity ever since we - ahem - _retrieved_ Mr. Reyes --" He nods at Gabriel to which the man just shrugs "-- We have reason to believe they are preparing for something big. What that is, we have yet to find out. Our sources indicate that Talon has recently stepped up activity in King's Row, London. I want a recon team to get in there and find out exactly what they're planning. Tracer will lead the mission as she is most familiar with the terrain, does anyone else wish to join?"  
  
"I volunteer."  
  
"Me!"  
  
"Yeah sure."  
  
"Can I go?" Gabriel asked. All heads at the table swivelled to look at him. He swallowed, hoping the action wasn't as obvious as he felt it was and reached up to scratch the hem of his beanie as he fumbled for the words. "I know the ins and outs of Talon activity better than anyone here, I know what to look for. What's more I was trained in recon, this should be a walk in the park for me."  
  
" _Absolutely not_ ," Reinhardt cut in, thick voice scathing. "You are by no means cured and letting you go anywhere _near_ Talon will put you at risk!" The giant doesn't say it but it hangs in the air - that Gabriel could put them _all_ at risk.  
  
Gabriel grits his teeth, feeling the burn as he mashed them together in an attempt to not snap at the hulking giant before him. Reinhardt wasn't completely wrong, Gabriel's mind wasn't completely free of the brain-washing Talon had subjected him to, one wrong move could cost him his sanity and perhaps even the lives of his team. Despite that, Gabriel still wanted to go, after all - if he stayed on the base any longer he might just go mad from being bored out of his mind!  
  
"I think he should go," A kind voice said.  
  
This time, all heads swivelled to the face of the doctor as Angela 'Mercy' Ziegler, calmly brushed a lock of platinum blonde hair behind her ear.  
  
"Mr. Reyes is reacting well to the treatment," she continued, keeping her voice level. "But we won't know for sure until he is tested in the field. Perhaps this is selfish of me to ask, but I must request that he be placed on the mission at least to gauge whether or not the treatment has been successful."  
  
"And if it hasn't?" Hanzo asked.  
  
"Then you put me down," Gabriel growled. "You've already captured me once, killing should not be a problem."  
  
They glowered at each other, Hanzo's brown eyes to Gabriel's red, daring each other to make the first move. A quick rap on the table broke their staring competition, McCree was chewing on an unlit cigar, his scruffy face was _unamused_ , to say the least. Almost immediately, the archer withdrew, arms crossed over his chest. Gabriel on the other hand took his time, riling up the gunslinger had always been a favourite pastime - he didn't see the point in changing that. McCree's only response was to move his unlit cigar from the right side of his mouth, to the left.  
  
Gabriel chuckled inwardly, his pupil had come a long way from that brat he picked up back in the day - and damn, was he proud.  
  
"We'll put Reyes on the mission then," McCree said "I'll go as well - if Talon is Blackwatch, I should know what to look for. T'rest of the team 'cludes Tracer, Lucio, Hanzo and Genji. The Shimada brothers can cover the roofs while t'rest of us scout the area. If Talon is up to no good, we'll regroup and get reinforcements. Remember, this 'here's a recon mission, don't go picking any fights now."  
  
No heavy defenders, Gabriel mused, but he saw the logic. Tracer and Lucio were both fast movers, making them efficient scouts, the latter could even speed or heal up the team if necessary. The Shimada brothers were both agile fighters, able to navigate the verticality of King's Row with little problem... _Huh_.  
  
Gabriel doubted McCree picked the Shimada brothers solely for their agility; no doubt their dragons would be useful against the enemy - or _him_.  
  
He sniffed, it's true the dragons had been vital during the capture of the Reaper but he questioned their use so close to Talon activities. The dragons were hardly quiet beings, the entirety of King's Row would be awake and screaming if one of the leviathans so much as breathed. Not that Gabriel would let that bother him, he was finally getting off this base and back into the game he knew best...  
  
\-----------------  
  
"Talon agents sighted," Gabriel muttered into the comm "They're in civilian clothing, heading from the hotel to the archway."  
  
"I see 'em," Lucio radios back. "We'll follow at a distance."  
  
The line cuts in a whirl of static. Gabriel lowers his hand from where he's placed it by his ear. Behind his Reaper mask once more, he watches the Talon agent through slitted eye-holes. Dressed in smart suits complete with fashionable bowler hats, the agents looked as if they were going from a nice dinner at the hotel to other...'destinations'. He snorted. The two agents stood out like a sore thumb against the crowded streets of King's Row. Smoke curling at the edges of his black coat, Gabriel tapped a  clawed finger on his knee as he waited for the enemy agents to make a move. Beside him, there was an uncomfortable shuffle. Gabriel rolled his eyes.  
  
"What is it now?" He hissed irritably.  
  
"Do you really have to do that?" McCree whispered back, hand gesturing at the seething smoke gathered about his legs. "It's making me nauseous."  
  
Gabriel cackled wickedly. "I didn't know the cowboy was afraid of a little smoke."  
  
"I'm not," McCree growled. "But admit it, movin', livin' fog ain't exactly natural."  
  
"Is there a reason why you're poking at my smoke instead of keeping your head on the mission?" Gabriel asked abruptly.  
  
McCree's silence was all he needed to hear.  
  
"Boyfriend troubles?"  
  
"I-it's not..." McCree stammers, adjusting his trademark serape around his shoulders.   
  
"I'm the last person you want to ask for advice from, McCree."  
  
"I know, but hear me out--"  
  
"This is team one, we've lost sight of the agents. Team two and three, do you have a visual?"  
  
Gabriel's head snapped back to the streets of King's Row, sure enough, the two Talon agents were gone. _Shit._  
  
"This is team two," Genji's voice echoed across the comm "We've lost them. We're moving ahead via roofs. We'll radio in if we see them."  
  
It wasn't like Talon agents to just disappear in the middle of the street like that, something wasn't right. Gabriel scanned the crowd once more, looking for the distinctive bowler hats. It should have been an easy matter of just spotting them...?  
  
"McCree."  
  
"Yeah, I see it."  
  
Together, they slinked down to ground level - Gabriel pouring onto the ground as a puddle of black smog before pulling himself back into his human form once more. McCree was less graceful, but no less quick as he dropped silently from the overhead rungs of a fire exit ladder. Pressed against the shadows of the back alley, they crept forward along the half-hidden corridor, avoiding puddles and other obstacles that would give themselves away.  
  
If there was anything Blackwatch had taught them - there was no such thing as coincidences. And the white haired man in a tacky blue jacket, a full face visor and an oversized instrument box slung across his shoulders was anything but a coincidence right now. The mystery man was even less of a coincidence and more of a vital part of their mission once he began knocking out the two Talon agents, the pained grunts and thudded blows of punches thundering against the cold stone walls of the back alley.  
  
Gabriel stretched his arm out, holding McCree back from advancing into the alley, guns blazing. Something was tugging him at the back of his mind, a memory, fragmented, broken. It was as if he's seen this mystery man before - but not as Gabriel Reyes, but rather...The Reaper. He shook his head vehemently, trying to clear his thoughts. It proved to be quite easy when the snap of broken bones echoed throughout the alley. _Shit_. Leaning forward cautiously, Gabriel peered around the corner of the alley.  
  
Of the two Talon agents, one had been knocked out, his bowler hat gone to reveal a big discoloured bruise on his forehead. The other agent was not so lucky. The white haired man was standing over him, one feet planted on a clearly broken arm. Even as Gabriel watched, the mystery man's boot twisted and the agent writhed painfully beneath him. Abruptly, the white haired man unslung the instrument box from his shoulder, revealing a bright red '76' emblazoned across his back. He knelt, bringing his visor inches away from the Talon agent's face. To Gabriel's surprise, the Talon agent smiled, a full toothy grin, then began chuckling, and then laughing. The white haired man was having none of it, his boot twisted once more. The agent's laugh dissolved into a high-pitched groan as he struggled weakly against the boot.  
  
Pale and sweating, the agent still managed to sneer up at his captor.  
  
" _Poor, poor 76_." His voice was a ear-jarring singsong, " _Still playing Soldier, are we?_ "  
  
That earnt the agent another twist of 76's boot, this time with more pressure - not that the agent seem to mind anymore. His grin was wild, animalistic.  
  
" _Don't bother dear soldier. Talon...Talon will take him back_."  
  
The agent giggled.  
  
" _We'll treat him well. Oh so very well._ "  
  
He was laughing now, forcing the words out amidst choking breaths.  
  
" _You don't have to worry about him at all dear 76_!"  
  
The instrument box was in 76's arms, the clasps were undone.   
  
" _We'll take care of him!_ "  
  
A Heavy Pulse rifle was pulled into gloved hands as the white haired man - Soldier: 76 - took careful aim.  
  
" _We'll take care of your dear_ Reaper _for you!_ "  
  
Calloused fingers struck down on the trigger even as Gabriel lurched forward.   
  
The pulse round that would have blown a hole through the agent's skull was nothing but a charred hole in the wall by the laughing man's head when Gabriel finally came back to his senses. His black clad arms were circled around 76's blue shoulders, clawed fingers grasped tightly around thickly gloved hands that trembled on the trigger. His armoured chest pressed flush against a broad back that was all too...  
  
...too _familiar_.  
  
"This is team two! We heard gunfire, what's your status? Report!"  
  
Soldier: 76 snapped, tearing himself out of Gabriel's embrace. Stunned, he was thrown back but a steady hand on his shoulder caught him. McCree came forward, Peacekeeper in one hand as he cocked the pistol at 76. The creasing of the soldier's forehead indicated that he was scowling beneath his visor but he held his ground, pulse rifle still smoking and pointed down towards the ground in a non-aggressive stance.  
  
"Jesse!" Hanzo's voice cut in over the comms, "Report!"  
  
"We're fine, darlin'," The gunslinger kept his gun level but his eyes drifted to take in the sight of the great rifle in 76's hands - the big oversized gun with a rocket launching barrel attached to the underside. "But I think we might have found our anonymous _friend_."  
  
"The _tipper_?" Tracer's voice was high-pitched, shocked. "We're on our way luv, hold things down till we get there!"  
  
"You shouldn't be here," 76 growled, low voice permeated by a hint of static. _Voice modifier_ , Gabriel realised, someone was taking pains to hide his identity.  
  
"I see that doesn't apply to you, 76," He returned. Crossing his arms over his armoured chest. "Still being a pain in Talon's side, I see."  
  
"Wait," McCree exclaimed "You _know_ 'im?"  
  
"Soldier: 76, wanted vigilante - there's a 10 million dollar bounty on this guy's head. We've met a few times on the field when I was Reaper," Gabriel explained, _yes_ it was coming back to him in bits and pieces... a man with a red visor...a Pulse Rifle held in strong hands...a strength that rivalled soldiers of a long forgotten enhancement program... "He's placed number one on Talon's list of most hated people for fucking up their plans and everything else in between. I'll admit though...I didn't think he was the tipper."  
  
McCree whistled, impressed. "That here's bounty’s even larger than mine. Yer'got a bone to pick with Talon then?"  
  
"Who I pick fights with is my business," Soldier snapped, more forcefully he added, "You shouldn't be here, all of you, and least of all _you_ \--" he jabs a finger in Gabriel's direction "-- Talon's been swarming around London like ants at an ant nest. You won't like what happens when they find you here."  
  
"Let them find out," Gabriel hissed "I could always use the extra souls."  
  
If anything, the scowl beneath 76's visor deepened. He hefted his rifle, advancing despite McCree's Peacekeeper trained on his chest.  
  
"You don't understand," He growled "None of you do! Talon is-- "  
  
A harsh barking laugh interrupted him. The agent on the floor - they had forgotten he was even there - nursing a broken arm was grinning wildly up at the soldier, baring sharp yellow teeth.  
  
"It's too late Soldier dear," the agent crooned. " _Far too late..._ "  
  
"S N I P E R!"  
  
It happened so fast. The warning blared through the comms even before the snap of the bullet reached their ears, McCree was kicked to the ground, Gabriel himself was shoved roughly against the wall as Soldier shielded him with his own body...Taking the barbed, claw-like bullet to the left side of his chest.  
  
The rifle dropped from suddenly limp fingers, 76's body sagged, his fall to the ground interrupted only by Gabriel's arms wrapping around his torso. A wild shuffle reached his ears. The injured Talon agent was lurching to his feet, a long silver knife in his good hand. As if shooting the Soldier wasn't enough - it seemed they intended to gut him open. A shame for him that Gabriel's temper was fraying.  
  
The great double-barrelled shotgun materialised in a cloud of swirling smoke. A single blast, and the Talon agent's face was caved in - a bloody mess. Gabriel wasn't finished there, he tore the soul from the quickly freezing corpse for good measure. Before the ashes had even scattered to the wind, Gabriel was pulling Soldier: 76's body to a more sheltered spot in the alley. A quick examination revealed a still moving chest despite the grotesque bullet sticking out of his left pectoral - if it could even be called a bullet. A elongated silver barb, much like a thorn and diamond in shape, protruded from Soldier's rapidly rising and falling chest. Extensions around the barbed bullet were hooked into the flesh, holding the strange bullet in place. Small sparks gathered around the bullet's tip, a glass-tube bearing purple liquid was half-hidden within the bullet's body. A sort of disabling dart then - most likely for disabling the Reaper.  
  
A trembling gloved hand was reaching up towards the dart, 76 was still conscious.  
  
"Hey hey hey, take it easy --" Gabriel started.  
  
The gloved hand closed around the barbed-bullet. And wrenched it out.  
  
" _Shit_ ," Gabriel snarled. The moment the barbed-bullet was removed, blood began pouring from the wound. Thick and oozing, Gabriel clasped both clawed hands over the hole in an attempt to stop the red tide that threatened to escape the Soldier. "What the _fuck_ did you do that for?"  
  
"...Poi...son..." Soldier gasped. Gabriel's head snapped up, sure enough, the barbed-bullet was leaking purple liquid across the stone tiles where it had been tossed aside. He growled. There was no telling what Talon had put in there, a possibly deadly concoction, but Gabriel doubted it - if the dart was meant to disable, it wouldn't kill. He grabbed the barbed-bullet, tucking it into one of the many pockets half hidden by his cloak, hopefully Mercy could find out what was in there - provided that Soldier lived long enough to receive the antidote.  
  
A red serape entered his sight, McCree had his back against the wall, Peacekeeper up and at the ready in his good arm. "Use this," the gunslinger grunted.  
  
Gabriel took the cloth with a muttered thanks, bundling and tying the material tightly around Soldier's chest. The blood was already dying the serape a deeper red, threatening to burst through the constraints. "Won't your boyfriend mind that I'm using your precious serape as a bandage?" He asked offhandedly.  
  
"Hanzo hates that thing, told me 'imself."  
  
"You really have no idea how love works do you?"  
  
"'The hell s'that supposed to mea--"  
  
"Team two here! We're engaging the sniper! We'll provide a distraction while everyone heads for the evac site!"  
  
"Shit. Roger that," McCree grunted into the comm "Stay safe. We'll see you back at evac." To Gabriel he said "Let's go, we don't have much time."  
  
"Grab his rifle, I've got the Soldier."  
  
As McCree rushed to fulfil his order, Gabriel gently lifted the Soldier in his arms, one arm around the limp man's shoulders and another under his knees... Perhaps a princess hold wasn't the most ideal - but it was the best way if he didn't want to jostle the wound any more than necessary. A muttered grunt escaped the Soldier.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I said... _Fuck_."  
  
Gabriel snorted. Seeing that the gunslinger had the oversized rifle in hand, they left quickly. Keeping to the shadows of the back alley, they made their way back to the Skyranger. The armoured transport craft was fired up, turbines humming gently by the time they came within sight, Lucio stood by the craft's door, silhouetted against the harsh interior light, he beckoned them forward quickly. They had barely passed the threshold onto the craft when footsteps echoed behind them. Gabriel twisted, expecting a Talon pursuit but heaved a sigh of relief when he spotted the green glow of Genji's cybernetics and the curve of Hanzo's Stormbow. The two Shimada brothers loped across the distance easily, the moment they boarded the craft, the door was raised and Tracer - in the cockpit - expertly lifted the transport into the air.  
  
"Clear the table."  
  
"Grab the first aid kit."  
  
"Here, move aside - let me see him."  
  
Gabriel gently placed the Soldier upon the tabletop, the makeshift-serape-bandage was soaked through, dripping at the edges - much to Hanzo's barely hidden dismay, Gabriel noticed. As he retreated, Lucio took his place, dark eyes focused beneath his green goggles as he assessed the damage. The young audio-medic's crossfade suit was beating out a calm, soothing rhythm; a matching aura of soft yellow pulsed in time to the beat, filling the interior of the craft with a warm glow. With deft hands, Lucio stripped away the red serape and Soldier's jacket, he shook his head at the wound, but his hands did not pause in their ministrations as he injected a shot into 76's arm, wrapped up the wound in thick layers of bandages and planted a biotic emitter close by. When finished, he patted his hands clean with a wet towel, thin mouth pursed in a concerned line.  
  
"I've done all I can," Lucio said "The wound's bad - like _real_ bad - I think it might've torn open a major artery. The emitter will help but we need to get him to an Emergency room ASAP."  
  
"Shit," McCree hissed. Heading to the cockpit, the rest of the team could hear him yell up the stairs "Lena! Can't you make this ol'rustbucket go any faster?"  
  
"We're already _at_ hypersonic flight! Hold onto your horses alright? We'll be there in 10 minutes!"  
  
McCree huffed but did not complain at the response. The rest of the team dispersed around the space that was the craft's interior, Hanzo rising to speak in hushed whispers to the gunslinger and Genji offering to help Lucio as the young medic tidied up the medical supplies. Gabriel himself opted to stay by the Soldier's makeshift bed.  
  
With one clawed hand, he removed his Reaper mask, hooking it onto his belt. His other hand pushed back his hood, running metal claws through his close-cropped curls before the beanie went back on over the top, hiding his hair from view. He drifted his eyes over the prone form of the Soldier, taking in the details that he had missed in the dim lighting of King's Row's streets. Thinning white hair, a large scar that most likely cut across the face (hidden under the visor), broadly muscled body, calloused hands...  
  
Everything about their mysterious tipper screamed military - and not just in name. It would explain 76's choice of weapons and how the man had gotten under Talon's skin so many times. But what it _couldn't_ explain was why the Soldier had taken so much pains to protect the Reaper. Gabriel's mind was still hazy at recalling his time with Talon - his time as Reaper - but now and then he remembered flashes, bits and pieces like a horribly torn film. He remembered engaging the mysterious Soldier on numerous occasions, sometimes in fire fights and other times in close-combat fist fights. More often than nought the battles would end in a stalemate, Soldier and Reaper being evenly matched. That being said...Gabriel eyed the pulse rifle which had been propped up against a chair. He had no doubt a single clip of the rifle at a distance would've sheared through his kevlar suit and into his heart - wraith ability or no. With good aim it was definitely possible - especially with the Tactical Visor that Gabriel was sure the Soldier was wearing.  
  
He huffed. So the Soldier could probably have killed him many times before now. Instead, the man had opted to steal valuable Talon intel (which is by itself a death wish), give said intel to Overwatch, have them retrieve and cure Gabriel, go on a mad run across the globe from authorities, Talon _and_ Overwatch, and even now - take a potentially life-threatening poisoned shot that was meant for him. Okay. Soldier: 76 definitely knew who he was, and Gabriel had not a fucking clue who _he_ was.  
  
He narrowed his eyes at the Soldier lying still on the tabletop. Something was up and Gabriel vowed that he was going to get to the bottom of this and find out just what. He stretched a clawed hand for the visor covering the Soldier's face.  
  
"Don't you fucking _dare_."  
  
Gabriel's wrist was suddenly caught in the tight, blood wringing squeeze of Soldier's grip, his metal claws barely scraping against the red glass of the visor.  
  
"Thought you were asleep," Gabriel groused.  
  
"Around you?" The Soldier snorted, "Never."  
  
"Suit yourself." Gabriel extracted his hand from 76's grip, massaging the blood back into his suddenly tingling wrist. He could feel the Soldier's gaze following him as he moved. "So, what was a Soldier like you doing in a place like King's Row?"  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know."  
  
"I would, actually."  
  
He felt the Soldier's eyes shift from him to the ceiling of the craft. The man was silent, as if weighing his options and outcomes. Gabriel didn't push him, he was still trying to find other ways of lowering the Soldier's guard. Something tells him he won't be satisfied until he's seen what lies behind that visor.  
  
"Sleeper," Soldier grunted.  
  
"I'm sorry, what?"  
  
The Soldier huffed. "Project: Sleeper, heard of it?"  
  
"Nope." Gabriel paused, thinking fast. "Is that Talon's new project?"  
  
"Yeah," Soldier sighed. "You asked why I was in London, I was investigating rumours about it."  
  
"Talon has a lot of sleeper agents, what makes this project so special?"  
  
76 was quiet again, lying still on the table. Gabriel was wondering if the Soldier had finally fallen asleep when he heard the low static-permeated rumble of the other man, barely a whisper - as if the words were for Gabriel's ears alone.  
  
"The intel I found..." He paused, as if checking the whereabouts of everyone else on the craft. "Suggests the Sleeper is within the _new_ Overwatch."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me."  
  
"No joke." The Soldier nodded downwards, Gabriel noticed a small drive, barely the size of his thumb nail, dwarfed in a red gloved hand. "I haven't gone through all of the data." The hand shifted, stretching the drive towards Gabriel. "Take it."  
  
Without a word, Gabriel took the drive, slipping it into a hidden pocket in his Reaper regalia. With the device safely stowed, he fixed Soldier with dark brown eyes once more.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Gabriel heard himself ask.  
  
Again, he thought the Soldier wouldn't answer. But then he hears it, not even a whisper - but something softer, as if 76 himself was unsure of how to form the words.  
  
" _Because I'm on your side_."  
  
\-----------------  
  
"Stupid! Stubborn man!" The feminine voice cut through the common room as Mercy stomped in, blonde hair flapping behind her. She was still in her surgical robe, smeared with blood. Huffing loudly, she threw down her holo-pad on the counter and brushed past a shocked Mei-Ling on the way to the coffee machine. She was still grumbling, muttering under her breath what sounded very much like death threats as she fixed herself what was possibly the strongest coffee Gabriel had ever seen - four shots, no water, no milk and no sugar - and downed it in one draught.  
  
"So...what did our friend do now?"  
  
"He refuses to take off that visor!" Mercy yelled "If that doesn't make things harder, he won't let me take his blood sample so I can replace the blood he's lost!" She slammed her coffee cup into the counter, causing the already frightened Mei to jump. "And last but not least, he told me to-to just _stitch him up_ and _discharge him_!! Can you believe that man!? A-A hole in his aorta and he just says _stitch him up_??"  
  
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. The doctor was shaking from head to toe from rage or from over-stimuli-by-coffee, he didn't know and he would rather not ask. Instead he rose from his place on the couch beside D.Va, at the same time thanking her for the little hand-held portable gaming device which he stowed in his hoodie pocket. The young gamer waved a hand in acknowledgement before turning her focus back to her pink laptop, a similarly pink bubblegum forming and then popping on her thin lips. Gathering his courage, Gabriel approached the kitchen counter and the very much on-edge doctor.  
  
"Angel--"  
  
" _What?_ "  
  
He swallowed. In a way it was good that some things never change - and by that he meant the doctor's very fiery temper. To save lives, Angela would do nearly anything it takes and she did not take kindly to those who stood in her way. Just as Gabriel was lethal to his enemies on a battlefield, the doctor was just as dangerous in a Hospital - and that can go both ways.  
  
"About the solution in the bullet," He asked, trying to avoid tapping his fingers on the counter to further irritate the doctor, "did you find out what was in it?"  
  
"Benzodiazepines, specifically triazolam, chlordiaze - you have no idea what I'm talking about do you?" In answer to Gabriel's blank stare.  
  
"You're speaking medical Angie. Speak. English."  
  
The doctor sighed. "It's like you guessed, a non-lethal cocktail of anaesthetics and sedatives. It's like they designed the thing to put down an elephant, strangely enough - our friend seems to be immune."  
  
"Immune?" Gabriel asked. Now that was surprising news.  
  
"Immune," the doctor repeated, fiddling with her coffee cup. "If I could just take a blood sample, I would know for sure how and why but --" she grits her teeth "--he won't let me!"  
  
"Uh-huh, I have a feeling there's a long list of things that guy won't let us do."  
  
Angela snorted behind her coffee cup, this time filled with clear water - much to Gabriel's relief. Undoing the green surgical robe, the doctor tossed the clothing over the counter as she re-tied her hair.  
  
"One more thing," she muttered pass the hair-tie in her mouth as she organised her platinum blonde locks "The solution contained microscopic machines - nanites."  
  
Gabriel frowned. "Nanites?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Any idea what they do?"  
  
"Not yet," Mercy huffed "But I'll find out."  
  
They stood there side by side in silence against the kitchen counter, Angela quietly sipping her water. Behind them, Mei had finished preparing lunch, 20 plump dumplings steaming gently in a giant bamboo basket and a myriad of other delicious smelling Chinese dishes. Carefully, the climatologist brought the food to the dining table where Reinhardt and Torbjorn were already waiting. Genji and Tracer were finishing up at the weapon's table, putting aside cleaning cloths and their chosen weapons of Japanese swords and blasters. The double doors hissed open admitting Lucio and Winston, their heads bowed together as they discussed tech of some form or another. McCree and Hanzo were nowhere to be seen, Gabriel didn't expect to see them to be honest - they had disappeared together after last night's mission and hadn't even bothered showing up to breakfast and the debriefing.  
  
Hana was the last to approach the dining table, tossing aside her pink laptop amidst the pile of gadgets already littering the coffee table. She discarded her bubblegum in the bin, bouncing into a chair between Lucio and Tracer, dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail as she helped herself to a dumpling. It was almost like old times, before Overwatch was officially formed, before the explosion, before Talon had dug their claws so deep into the organisation and torn them all apart.  
  
Almost.  
  
The ageing faces of the elder members were a constant reminder of how time had passed. Genji and Angela were still much the same, but Tracer was grown now - no longer the teenager that Gabriel had met back when slipstream was still just a name on a paper. And although Lucio and Hana were welcome additions to the family...it couldn't replace the emptiness that Gabriel felt.  
  
In Hana's place he could see the laughing woman, regal like a queen with long flowing black hair. A tattoo of the eye of Horus gracing a left eye, long slender fingers that were used to handling a sniper rifle cradling a delicate pink china cup. And in Lucio's place...a quiet blonde. With golden hair haloing his head, face unmarred by a broken nose, soft cornflower blue eyes sparkling with inner light. Gabriel's hands shook as he handled the food Mei put before him, he tried to ignore it, the feeling gnawing on the inside of his gut. He ate little and in silence, only nodding to the occasional comment when the conversation turned towards him. It was funny how lonely someone could get while being surrounded by friends...  
  
Finishing early, he muttered his thanks for the meal and left quickly, unable to stand the noise at the bustling table any longer. Beanie pulled low over his head, Gabriel slumped against the corridor once the double doors behind him had hissed closed. It didn't help that he could still hear the noises in the dining room, his mind had even taken the liberty of filling in their voices - the gentle, motherly rumble of Ana Amari. And the low timbre of Jack Morrison.  
  
 _They're dead_ , he reminded himself harshly. Ana from a sniper bullet and Jack...from a collapsing building. He screwed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth together as he willed the images of his closest friends from his mind. One of his hands had twisted in his hoodie pocket, finding the small drive that Soldier: 76 had given him nestled against Hana's pink gaming console. With a harsh puff of breath, Gabriel pulled both from his pocket.  
  
Making sure no one else was in the corridor, he inserted the drive into one of the console's ports. Just nice, the drive clicked into place - a perfect fit. Gabriel heaved a sigh of relief, he hadn't been sure the drive would fit into the gaming console and he didn't want to risk putting the drive into one of Overwatch's own computers if there was a Sleeper agent in their midst. Nevermind that the agent could've been Gabriel himself.  
  
The possibility hadn't escaped him, he was the most likely candidate and even back in King's Row, the Talon agent had made it a point that Reaper was important to them. Nevertheless, Gabriel needed to know the truth. If he truly _was_ the Sleeper, he would need to warn everyone else - and fast. The tiny holo-screen flickered to life, D.Va's signature bunny dominated the centre, a pink logo on a baby blue background. A smile tugged at Gabriel's lips. _Cute_ , he thought offhandedly.  
  
His dark calloused fingers navigated the controls with ease, selecting the drive's folder and spilling its contents across the screen. Layers upon layers of windows overlapped each other - news reports, documents, voice files...the list was endless. Gabriel raised an eyebrow, this wasn't just documents on Project: Sleeper he realised. It seemed Soldier: 76 had given him a personalised drive complete with the man's actions and plans. Damn, if he knew 76 was going to give him so much he would've asked to borrow Hana's laptop instead.   
  
Nevermind the inconvenience, he would make do with what he had. Gabriel opened the search box, the word 'sleeper' was half formed in the box when he paused. This was 76's personalised drive... _personalised_ \- complete with voice journals and notes written by the mysterious man himself.  
  
Turning quickly, Gabriel made a beeline for his room in the base. The doors were locked shut behind him, a quick check made sure the secondary lock was also in place before he began rummaging for the earphones Lucio had given him almost a week before. The neon green earpieces were in his ears and plugged into the console by the time he flopped down on the narrow mattress that served as his bed - hardly the kind of luxury he had back when he was Blackwatch Commander but it was way better than the hard table Talon usually had him on.  
  
For a moment, he fumbled. There was a lot on this drive...like... _a lot_. So, where should he start? His mind seemed to slow, a single thought forming despite the possible urgency of the situation - _from the beginning_ , it said. Gabriel reopened the search box, filtering the drive for earliest entries. The first window that popped open contained a single image - once a polaroid photo - dated back nearly eight years ago.  
  
 _"Hurry up Reyes, or we'll miss all the candy!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"What are we, 12? I thought we were heroes of the world or something."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Says the person who spent the last month making a Halloween costume. Come on Gabe, what's the point in all that effort if you don't go out and show-off a little?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Gabriel huffed, the pumpkin headpiece tucked under an arm as he eyed Jack and Ana. To be honest, trick or treating did sound like a fun idea, even if he_ was _a grown man._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Fine," he grumbled - no point letting them see how eager he was. "But I get to keep all the Reese cups."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Hey! That's hardly fair," Jack complained, the blonde's pout was strange in the star-spangled, blue, red and white outfit._ _  
__  
__Gabriel reached out a hand, fluffing up the golden blonde hair as he pecked the man on the cheek. A click to the side warned him that Ana had snapped a quick photo on her polaroid camera, the film sliding out the bottom as the image slowly appeared on its previously white surface._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Don't complain_ cariño _," Gabriel said "I'll give you the jelly dinosaurs, deal?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Gee, I don't know Gabe..." Jack grinned mischievously, cutting off in a burst of laughter as Gabriel narrowed his eyes and glared at him. "Alright, alright, deal. Now are we going to get some candy or not?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Gabriel pulled the blonde in for a rough kiss, pushing his tongue past startled lips. Deep, strong - like waves crashing against a rocky shore. When they broke apart, Jack was breathing just a tad bit hard. Somewhere behind him, McCree was making gagging noises._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Yeah. Let's go," Gabriel said, pulling his pumpkin headpiece back over his head._ _  
_ _  
_ _"About time," Ana grumbled, tossing them both pumpkin shaped baskets. The polaroid photo was tucked into Jack's hand as they made their way out the door and onto the Halloween festive streets._ _  
_  
...How?  
  
How had Soldier obtained this - it was _private_ for fuck's sake! Something that had been kept within their inner circle for as long as Gabriel could remember. His mind was churning out questions and possible scenarios. Soldier was definitely not just some _random_ man on the streets - no. This guy had access to the former Overwatch's inner circle. His calloused fingers darted across the console's controls, bringing up the next file.  
  
 _Oh_ , he was going to find out just who this Soldier was - even if he had to wreck Hana's console to do it...  
  
\-----------------  
  
When Gabriel burst into the medical ward hours later, he found 76 up and half-dressed, in the midst of putting a black shirt on. He also noted the deep horizontal scar that cut right between the Soldier's shoulder blades and the horribly mutilated right hand that indicated severe burns. _Well, well, well..._ _  
_  
Soldier was shocked to say the least, jumping when Gabriel slammed the door open. He finished dressing as quickly as his injured body would allow, pulling his tacky blue jacket over himself for good measure.  
  
"Do you even knock?" 76 demanded, voice muffled and changed under the mask's covering and modifier.  
  
"Take off the mask," Gabriel snarled.  
  
Soldier looked taken aback. "What--"  
  
"I said: _take off the fucking mask_."  
  
76 was quiet, holding his right arm against his chest. Uncertainly, the man massaged his arm, he made no move to remove his visor. "I gave you that drive to find the Sleeper. Not stalk me."  
  
"You have photos and data only available to the innermost circle of the former Overwatch," Gabriel hissed "I want to know how and I want _you_ to take off the mask."  
  
He was breathing too hard, he knew, breath rasping hoarsely in his throat. A part of him wanted Soldier to hold out, to _not_ remove the mask, but it was only a very small part. The rest of him wanted - _needed_ \- to know just who Soldier was... even if it meant tearing himself apart all over again.  
  
"You tell me who the Sleeper is, and I'll remove my mask."  
  
A simple request. Except Gabriel happened to spot the gloves on the bedside table, the leg armour that hugged 76's lower portions, belted sash and biotic emitters already tied onto the broad chest and the Heavy Pulse Rifle - just _waiting_ on the bed. Injured as he may be, Soldier: 76 obviously had no intention of sticking around.  
  
"Not happening," Gabriel growled "not if you're going to hit me over the head once I tell you who the Sleeper is."  
  
"I can always find out for myself," Soldier snapped. The man grabbed his rifle and gloves, making a move for the door.   
  
The Soldier paused when Gabriel planted himself firmly between him and escape.  
  
"Move," He hissed.  
  
"Make me," Gabriel returned.  
  
They stood, glaring at one another. It was as if time itself had come to a standstill, the small medical bay, with its whitewashed walls, messy hospital bed and strewn about clinical instruments. The only indication that they were not officially in stasis was the small round clock on the wall - ticking away the seconds as the two men faced off.  
  
Soldier broke their staring competition first, whipping his head to the side as he grumbled incoherently under his breath - Gabriel picked out the words 'stubborn' and 'idiotic'. He snorted, he could say the same about the old soldier before him. The rifle was tossed back on the bed, Soldier's hand reached for the visor and face-mask.  
  
Gabriel's breath hitched in his throat, mentally bracing himself--  
  
The ground shook viciously, throwing them both off their feet. A deep rumble thundered throughout the base just as sirens started blaring and the room was flushed red under the flashing alarms. Soldier hit the ground with a choked cry, his injury no doubt jarred by the impact. Gabriel was scrambling for him on hands and knees, he lurched over the downed Soldier, shielding the man from a suddenly dislodged piece of ceiling. A grunt of pain escaped his lips.  
  
Soldier must've heard. His scarred hands were reaching for Gabriel, pulling him under the hospital bed even as another wave shook the facility. They were pressed flush against each other under the narrow bed, two sets of lungs rasping for breath as the shuddering continued, sending medical instruments flying and dislodging more of the ceiling. Lights were broken, sparking as they went out, a pipe burst, sending a spray of water into the air before pooling on the floor. A surgical knife fell, piercing the ground with its sharpened head too close to the bed - Gabriel grabbed and pressed the Soldier tighter against his chest, barely registering the other's arms circling his waist and holding him close.  
  
As suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped. Sirens still blared and the room was knocked out of shape, but there was nothing else falling on them - at least for the moment. Voices erupted over the comms as people demanded to know what had just happened.  
  
"Our defense systems just self-destructed! All the turrets, all the drones!" It was Torbjorn, voice shaking over the comms.  
  
" _How in 'ell_ is it supposed to do that!? They're _defense systems_ for fucks sake!" McCree yelled back over the comms.  
  
Beside Gabriel, the Soldier coughed under his mask, "It's the Sleeper, it has to be."  
  
"Shit," Gabriel groaned, pulling himself and 76 out from under the bed "But the Sleeper isn't even _here_ \- or at least, it's not someone we know."  
  
Soldier looked at him, confused. "Then what did the data say? Who the hell's the Sleeper?"  
  
"Someone called Sombra."  
  
76 stopped. Half-way out from under the bed and he was staring at Gabriel from under his visor as if he had grown two heads. " _Sombra_? The data said Sombra!?"  
  
"Yeah--" Gabriel paused. "You know who it is?"  
  
" _Shit_!" Soldier yelled, he shoved himself to his feet, grabbing his rifle. "We need to get out of here, the whole base's been compromised."  
  
"Wait! Hold on a second, who's Sombra?"  
  
"A Talon hacker - best of the best," Soldier hissed.  
  
"A hacker can't be a sleeper agent," Gabriel pointed out.  
  
"Sure she can," 76 growled "By hacking, overriding and replacing Overwatch's dominating AI. By _acting_ the program that was meant to serve _us_. By being in every _goddamn_ system on this _fucking_ base, so that we won't notice what's wrong, until it's too _fucking_ late!"  
  
Gabriel's eyes widened under the flashing red alarms, understanding dawning on his features.  
  
"Athena," He whispered, voice hoarse. "Athena's the Sleeper."  
  
\-----------------  
  
"Get everyone to the Hangar, we need to get off this base!"  
  
"Can't do that, we're locked in at the dorms. Everyone else is scattered around the facility - all systems are down, except for comms. Armoury is shut tight'r than m'mum's jewel box and none of us are armed!"  
  
"Not all of us," Gabriel growled.  
  
The shotguns came at his silent call, forming in his metal clawed hands, _Hellfire_ he called them - because they could just about tear through anything. The shotgun blast ripped through the console that held the medical ward doors shut, the doors creaked open. With a little help from Gabriel, a gap opened large enough for him and the Soldier to slip through.   
  
Back in his Reaper uniform (albeit with his hood down and mask hooked to his belt), Gabriel scrutinised the damage done to the facility just as he and 76 darted down the corridor. Athena/Sombra had really done a number on the base. Fire had erupted in some passageways, forcing them to reroute several times, everything else was in disarray - pipes had exploded, ceiling lights drooped from their places above their heads, even the potted plants that Winston liked to keep about the facility were toppled, scattering soil and their green occupants across the floor.   
  
A fork in the corridor opened up, Gabriel and Soldier slowed, the latter breathing hard.  
  
"You alright?" Gabriel asked.  
  
"Yeah," Soldier gasped and then winced under his visor. "I can get the people in the dorms and then head for the armoury."  
  
"I'll sweep the common room and labs," Gabriel said "Meet you in the hangar."  
  
"Roger."  
  
They separated without another word, Soldier heading down the left passageway while Gabriel took the right. It was almost strange, how much he trusted the mysterious 76. He hadn't even seen under the mask and here he was; asking the Soldier to help evacuate the base. _Hell_ , he hadn't even asked if the Soldier knew which way was to the dorms, he just had a feeling... that if 76 _truly_ was who Gabriel guessed he was - he would know the facility well, if not _better_ than Gabriel did.  
  
Another shudder shook the base. Gabriel cursed as he fell against the corridor wall in an attempt to keep himself upright, jarring his shoulder in the process. Whoever this Sombra was, Gabriel suspected she was going all out - finding every last piece of weaponised material on the base attached to Athena's systems and setting it alight.  
  
 _Of all the sleeper agents Talon could use, they chose an AI._ Gabriel thought angrily.  
  
Pushing himself up, he continued down the corridor. The doors of the common room loomed before him through the smoke filled passageway, they were locked tight and showed no signs of budging. Not like that was a problem, Gabriel had just the solution to help the doors along. His Hellfire ate through the locking mechanisms of the doors with little resistance, popping the doors open like cork from a champagne bottle. Immediately, coughs and rasping breaths reached his ears.  
  
Gabriel moved into the room, eyes scanning the interior desperately for the source of the noise.  
  
"Mr. Reyes, over here!"  
  
Hana looked none the worse for wear, covered in soot and blood dribbling from a scar across her cheek, she was crouched with Mei-Ling beside a huge slab of debris. Pinned underneath was a barely conscious Lucio. The medic raised his head as Gabriel dropped to the floor beside him, a small smile ghosting across the tanned face.  
  
"Hey Mr. Reyes." Lucio's voice was barely audible under the crackling fire and collapsing debris. "Nice earthquake we got goin' on - _ow_ \- dont'cha think?"  
  
 _At least he hasn't lost his sense of humour,_ Gabriel thought. "Hang in there kid, we'll get you out." To the girls he said "Mei, get the corner over there, Hana, get ready to pull him out. We'll lift on three - one...two...three!"  
  
The slab rose with a rain of dust, Hana was quick to grab Lucio by the arms, pulling the audio-medic free before Gabriel and Mei dropped the debris back in place with a huff. Lucio groaned as he was settled, his crossfade suit had suffered minimal damage, but not his prosthetic legs unfortunately. The usually bright neon skates that acted as Lucio's feet had been crushed, wires hung out at odd angles, the once pristine blades were shattered into glowing fragments that barely held on.  
  
"Shit. Hang in there Lu!" Gabriel growled. As gently as he could, he lifted the young medic, draping him over his back and carrying him piggy-back style. Lucio didn't protest. Thinking fast, Gabriel tossed one of his shotguns to Hana. The young gamer caught it in both hands, a determined expression crossed her face as she hefted the too-big weapon in her small hands - her game face, Gabriel remembered.   
  
"Hana, take point. Mei, stay on my six," He ordered "We'll bypass the labs and pick up anyone there before heading to the hangar."  
  
The girls obeyed, Hana leading the way as they left the common room - the sound of collapsing ceiling following them out.  
  
\-----------------  
  
"Why doesn't the Korean army employ shotguns? These things are _sweet_!"  
  
"Useless at range, takes too long to reload, heavy..." Tracer flicked the reasons off her fingers as they ran. "Too many bullets per use, expensive...did I mention they were useless at range?"  
  
"Hey hey hey, those are my babies you're insulting," Gabriel grumbled.  
  
"Sorry luv, but it's true!"  
  
"Can we leave the shotgun debate for _after_ we all get out of here?" Mercy demanded.  
  
They were just leaving the labs, having picked up Tracer, Mercy and Winston on the way. The large gorilla was leading now, using his strength to clear debris in their path as they made a beeline for the hangar. Mercy hovered around Gabriel's shoulder, her Caduceus staff pulsing in her hands as she bathed Lucio in its warm glow. It would ease the audio-medic's pain for now, but something would have to be done about the prosthetics - once they escaped.   
  
Another rumble thundered throughout the facility, this time no one paused to see what broke. They continued their mad dash to the hangar, barely making it past the wide double doors as the corridor behind them caved in. The Skyranger was sitting as they had left it from the mission the night before - in the middle of the hangar bay, engines offline and wings folded. Tracer was quick to blink up to the transport, lowering the door and darting in to rev up the engines. Gabriel boarded next, easing Lucio onto the transport's tabletop, Mercy was instantly pulling a first aid kit down from the shelves before coming to assess the full extent of the damage. Mei and Winston were still outside the craft, pushing open the great sliding doors that acted as the hangar's exit so that the Skyranger could take off - once everyone was on board.  
  
Gabriel exited the craft just as Mei and Winston returned from opening the doors, his brown eyes darting around the hangar bay and spotted Hana - still hefting Hellfire in her arms - as she watched the remaining entrances that led to the transport. She looked up as he approached, wearing a grim expression.  
  
"The others aren't here yet."  
  
"We'll wait for them," Gabriel assured her.  
  
"And if they don't arrive...?"  
  
"They better," Gabriel growled. He was trying not to think about it too hard. The fires, the debris, the smoke - it was all too familiar. And he hated it.  
  
A secondary alarm blared overhead, overlapping the first with a higher, keening noise.  Hana smacked her hands over her ears, Hellfire balancing precariously in her awkward grip. From the transport, Gabriel could hear a string of colourful British curses.  
  
"What's happening?" He yelled.  
  
"There are intruders on the base!" Winston bellowed, "We need to evac before they get to us!"  
  
"The others --"  
  
Winston's sullen expression was not a welcoming sight. Gabriel cursed under his breath.  
  
"Get on the transport Hana," He muttered, trying to keep his voice calm.  
  
"But --"  
  
"No 'buts' young lady."  
  
Hana hesitated - only for a second - before pushing Hellfire back into Gabriel's arms and bolting for the transport - quickly disappearing into the interior. He watched her go, adjusting his grip on Hellfire before summoning it's companion. Now armed with two shotguns, Gabriel watched as Tracer expertly eased the Skyranger from the hangar, grey wings unfurling in the setting sun, turbines humming and glowing a bright sky blue upon the runway. They were ready to go, so where was Soldier and the remainder of the team?  
  
His unspoken question was answered when Reinhardt charged across the tar track, a silver bullet that crashed through the walls of the storage room before stopping just inches away from the Skyranger's nose. The knight was in full body armour, his two-handed hammer gripped in a large gauntleted hand. From the hole he had created in the storage room, Torbjorn, Genji, Hanzo and finally McCree poured out, in their hands were the team's numerous weapons - most likely retrieved from the armoury before making themselves scarce. The remainder of the team filed onto the transport craft without a word, exhausted and covered in too much soot and blood. But even as the last man stepped onto the craft...There was no Soldier. A second survey of the area did not magically reveal the man in the tacky blue jacket. Gabriel felt the sinking of his gut like a heavy stone in a pond.  
  
He had taken one step back in the direction of the crumbling base when he felt a cold metal hand grip his shoulder. Gabriel looked back into McCree's scruffy face. The gunslinger was shaking his head sadly, hazel eyes shadowed.  
  
"He's gone, Reyes," McCree said "And it's high time we left too."  
  
 _Gone_. The word hung in the air between them and _yet_... Gabriel snorted.  
  
"You really have no idea how love works do you?" He asked.  
  
McCree was stunned into silence, eyes gone wide. A moment past and then the gunslinger was chuckling, pulling his favourite hat down over his eyes. The cowboy shook his head once more, but this time in disbelief - as if he had just lost a game he clearly had the winning hand in. His grip on Gabriel changed, patting his former mentor affectionately on the shoulder before withdrawing.  
  
Gabriel watched McCree board the craft. Silently, he drew back as the Skyranger's door was raised, hissing and locking shut with a click. The turbines thrummed, reverberating in his bones as the craft rose vertically into the air. For a moment it hovered, as if gathering its bearings, before shooting past Gabriel and into the sky in a flash of blue.  
  
It was only then that Gabriel turned back to the base, Hellfire grasped in his metal clawed hands. He cracked his neck, feeling the bones pop and muscles loosen. Talon was most likely swarming the collapsing facility - and _he_ had a stubborn Soldier to pick up.  
  
\-----------------  
  
 _"Hey Ana?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Don't say anything you wouldn't say if you weren't dying from a gaping hole in your side, Jack."_ _  
_ _  
_ _He chuckled but broke off as pain crashed through his body, making him gasp and shudder. A situation gone more south than usual, a capture point mission across the war-torn Al-Faw Peninsula. They were cornered in a dingy cellar in the Fao Fortress. To be quite honest, if he wasn't lying on the ground and bleeding out, Jack would've liked to explore the ruins - provided it wasn't raining gunfire of course. He catches his breath once more, blood rich in his mouth as he feels cool air enters his lungs._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Come on Ana, hear me out."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"No." The sniper pulled a syringe from her pack, plunging it needle-first into his leg, making him yelp. "Lie still, shut up, and take your medicine. I'll get us home safe."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Your bedside manner is appalling. Did anyone ever tell you that?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Ana snorted, a slender hand coming up to swipe away the mud and grime on her face. "You don't see Fareeha complaining."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"That's just Fareeha. But honestly, Ana."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Fine," the sniper grumbled, exasperated "What?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Don't tell Gabe."_ _  
_ _  
_ _They share a look, and then burst out in hysterics in the cellar. Jack cuts off first when the pain lances through his body once more, but he's still wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. Ana, on the other hand, is clutching her stomach with one hand, the other holds her rifle across her lap as she wheezed for breath from laughing too hard..._  
  
\-----------------  
  
76 drops his head against the wall he’s sat at with a sigh. His left pectoral is bleeding again, the stitches torn open. His arms and legs fare no better; the tendons were cut apart by quick, well-aimed sword strikes - stopping him from moving. His visor is broken, tossed aside and half-buried under slabs of debris, revealing a once-handsome face now scarred beyond hope and two soft cornflower blue eyes. In all honesty, he must look like hell.  
  
He had been lucky, _well_ \- only at the beginning. He had found the other half of the team gathered in the corridors of the dorms, a well aimed round from his rifle tearing the locked doors open and letting everyone free. As he had promised Gabriel, he had headed for the armoury before everything had gone to shit.   
  
The lilac skull blinking across Athena's usually blue screens, the sudden burning in his veins as he fought to control his own limbs - threatening the very people he had sought to rescue. And Genji's quick thinking as the cyborg sliced apart Soldier's tendons to stop the man moving whilst preventing further damage to the Soldier's already beaten up body... Unfortunately, the young Shimada had accidentally knocked off his visor in the ensuing chaos - much to the shock of everyone present.  
  
 _Nanites._  
  
He should've known. Sedatives and anaesthetics were useless against soldiers from the Enhanced Program, their quickened metabolism shredding foreign chemicals in their bodies before they even had a chance to take hold. Talon should've known that seeing as how they had held onto Reaper for a good three years and more. So they had used nanites, injected straight into the bloodstream using the barb-bullet, they would control their host from the inside out.  
  
Dark cackling had broken out over the speakers once the Soldier had been downed, the fire in his veins suddenly extinguished as Talon released their grip on 76 - at least for the moment. McCree had grabbed his Peacekeeper from the armoury rack and fired two quick bursts into the console and speakers, effectively shutting out the evil laughter. The team had gathered round, eager to help and get the Soldier to safety - but he had insisted otherwise. He was bleeding out, compromised and now, a dead weight. The pun was not lost on him - he was a dead man walking, had been ever since the explosion at the Swiss base.  
  
Of course, the title was about to become quite literal as he heard two sets of heels clacking across the cold, hard floor.  
  
Soldier glowered at the two women, flanked by a squadron of Talon soldiers, all armed to the teeth. One of them held a sniper rifle in long, tapering blue fingers, amber eyes revealed no emotion as they scoured the remains of the room, her long midnight hair was tied back in a whiplike ponytail. _Widowmaker_ , Soldier thought. Once Amélie Lacroix, the woman was now a plaything of Talon's, one that the organisation toyed with over and over. As for the other woman...  
  
A devilish grin stretched across purple glossed lips as she took in the sight of the beaten man that was Soldier. Sombra tapped her lilac skulled mask with dark fingers, circling 76 as if she were a cat who had just found a delicious snack. Her heels were loud, echoing in the crumbling room, her violet cowl flapped behind her like a flag.  
  
" _Soldado_." Her voice was mechanical, eerily singsong. " _¿Cómo estás?_ "  
  
"Go screw yourself," He snapped.  
  
Sombra tutted, feigning offence. "Come now, 76. Is that anyway to greet a would-be friend?"  
  
"You mean after you mind control me and turn me into a puppet like _her_ right?" He hissed, jerking his head in the direction of Widowmaker.  
  
The sniper cocked her head - just a fraction - but her face had not changed. A serene impassiveness that was wrong on so many levels.  
  
Sombra huffed. " _Mind control_ \- how positively archaic," She said "I prefer the term... _Revitalised_."  
  
Soldier snorted.  
  
The purple cowled woman knelt before the Soldier, in one hand she produced a small remote. A painted nail drew up, caressing a dial on the little device. Soldier grunted as his body began to heat up and then burn, the nanites struggling to move limbs that were severed and unresponsive. Sombra tilted her head, thin lips puckered and pouting - as if disappointed to find that the toy she had been gifted was broken. Even then, her finger continued turning the dial.  
  
Soldier cried out as the fire grew into an inferno within his veins, the nanites were whirling under his skin, rushing in his ears. He gasped for breath as his lungs spasmed, his head knocked back on his neck as his muscles locked tight. It felt like minutes had passed when Sombra finally relented, releasing Soldier from the fiery torment of the nanites. His breath rasped painfully in his throat, body aching as he gulped down lungfuls of air.  
  
"Dear, dear Soldier," Sombra crooned "So sad, so in pain...Wouldn't it be better to just...let it all go?"  
  
76 didn't answer. He was still trying to regain the barest form of composure.  
  
"Imagine it - no more pain, no more suffering. No one can hurt you...No one can harm you..."  
  
"I'd rather _die_ ," he snarled.  
  
Sombra stood in a swirl of purple. "You'd rather suffer the cold embrace of death than live on _and_ be free from the pains of this world?" She asked, a hint of disbelief clouding her mechanical voice.  
  
76 laughed, shoulders shuddering uncontrollably as he fixed his blue eyes on the cowled hacker.  
  
"You've never died before, how would you know if it hurt?" He asked.  
  
Sombra's features twisted, a grotesque picture only hidden by the skull shaped mask covering her face. Not that Soldier was looking. There was something moving amongst the ruins of the facility, something that fanned the flames and twined around the legs of the Talon soldiers. They were gathering about the Soldier too, holding him in a light embrace.  
  
"And to be frank, _I'm_ not the one that should be afraid of dying," he continued.  
  
A thin smokey tendril rose to caress his scarred cheek. He grinned.  
  
" _You_ should."  
  
Sombra twisted just as Gabriel materialised in their midst in a whirlwind of black smog. A creature of death incarnate, his Hellfire let loose blast after blast of metal bullets. The slugs tearing apart the Talon squadron and boring holes into the surrounding debris.  
  
" _Die. Die. Die. Die. Die._ "  
  
Soldier screwed his eyes shut, he was unable to move, unable to get to cover, and yet - not one bullet so much as grazed him. His enemies were not so lucky, he could hear the sound of bullets piercing through flesh, the screams. The sound of fleeing heels interrupted by a feminine cry and then - the sound of a remote being crushed under a heavy boot. The silence that followed was oddly comforting.  
  
"Hey, _cariño_." A gentle voice murmured, music to 76's ears. "It's over. You can open your eyes now."  
  
Blue eyes peeked out from under his lashes. Gabriel was crouched before him, black smoke gently swirling about his black cloak and hugging the form of the man he knew so well. He smiled.  
  
"Hey... _Gabe_." He rasped, low voice gravelly and unmasked by a modifier.  
  
The dark, sun-kissed man snorted, one clawed hand rising to scratch at dark curls. The emotions that flashed across Gabriel's face was mixed - uncertainty weaved with guilt, threaded with sorrow, and laced with longing. Unspoken questions and confessions that hung between them - one, a man who had returned from death and the other, a man who had _become_ death.   
  
It was...too much. What had started as a small crevasse had turned into a rift that had been growing ever since Overwatch had began falling apart - ever since _they_ had began falling apart. And now, face to face once more, trying to rebuild a bridge over a gulf that was bigger and deeper than any on the globe - all in a matter of seconds. It was...hard. But wasn't it worth a shot?  
  
Jack 'Soldier: 76' Morrison was the first to break the silence.  
  
"Um hey," He started, uncertainty clouding his cornflower blue eyes. "Look, I...I kind of...can't move. So can you get over here and...?" He raised an eyebrow as if to make a point.  
  
The smile that broke across Gabriel's face was both heartwarming and breathtaking, as he dipped in, pushing rough lips against scarred ones, claiming a kiss - the first in a long, _very_ long time.   
  
_"Oooh boy, here he comes."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Don't leave me," Jack begged._ _  
_ _  
_ _Ana rolled her eyes - as if she could leave at all without him pooling all over the floor. She had one of Jack's arms slung around her shoulders as she supported the very injured blonde out to the Landing Zone. Reinforcements had arrived just mere minutes ago, saving them from dying in the dingy cellar of the Fao Fortress. The Cavalry was - of course - led by none other than Gabriel Reyes._ _  
_ _  
_ _The man himself was making his way over to them this very second, a thunderstorm gathered about his dark features. Jack gulped audibly, he clutched a hand over his very obvious wound and prayed really hard he wasn't going to be in for it. He swore Ana was snickering beside him._ _  
_ _  
_ _He probably didn't have to be worried. The moment Gabriel extracted Jack from Ana's hold, he was pressed flush against the broad armoured chest, fighting for breath as Gabriel smashed their faces together and snogged the living daylights out of him. Jack was still reeling from the kiss as Gabriel lifted the blonde in a princess-hold right in the middle of the LZ for everyone to see. Jack knew he was blushing a deep scarlet much to the amusement and giggles of some - if not all - of the soldiers within sight._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Don't think this saves you from the scolding I'm going to give you later,_ cariño _," Gabriel whispered harshly into his ear._ _  
_ _  
_ _Jack could only nod dumbly, too weak to even struggle out of Gabriel's hold._ _  
_  
"We need to get you to a doctor." Gabriel sighed "Find a way to get the nanites out...Find someplace to lay low..."  
  
"Mmh," Jack hummed, deposited once more in Gabriel's strong arms.  
  
"Hey, are you even listening to me?"  
  
"Hmm? Yeah." He murmured, snuggling his white haired head under the other man's chin.  
  
Gabriel sighed but didn't push any further. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Jack was very much alive and in his arms right now. But where were they going to go?  
  
A quick inspection had revealed that both Widowmaker and Sombra had escaped even though they were both most likely severely injured by Death Blossom, this meant there were no Talon transports left for them to hijack. And Gabriel hadn't bothered to ask where McCree and the rest of the new-Overwatch had gone, hell he hadn't even kept his comm to call them back for help!  
  
"You worry too much Gabe."  
  
"And you're too easygoing about the fact that you're bleeding out with hostile nanomachines in your body," He grumbled.  
  
Jack chuckled. "You know what would be nice? Someplace warm - hot even."  
  
Gabriel raised an eyebrow at that but didn't interrupt.  
  
"I know a place - beautiful golden sands, balmy breezes. Has a great view too, the Pyramid of Giza. Heard of it?"  
  
"Egypt," he stated flatly "You want to go to Egypt."  
  
"I have a friend there we can call. Former Egyptian Defence Force, sniper --"  
  
" _Now_ you’re just pulling my leg," Gabriel blurted out "She's alive?"  
  
"And kicking." Jack laughed. "So, what do you think?"  
  
Gabriel huffed. He wasn't sure how much more he could take today - finding out that your best friend and lover who had supposedly died nearly five years ago was still alive, that he had been supporting you from the shadows under an alias (however crude the codename Soldier: 76 was). That, said-lover had spent the better half of a decade chasing down their enemies and attempting to save him... and now?  
  
That his _other_ best friend and 'wing(wo)man' was alive as well?  
  
 _Could this day get any weirder?_ Gabriel asked himself.  
  
Probably.  
  
When Ana finally picks them up in a decommissioned S70 chopper, he just about cries into her silver hair as she hugs him close. Screw that - _he does_ , wetting the braided coil as she pats him gently on the back.  
  
They leave together, the three of them. With Ana piloting them to safety and Jack and Gabriel deposited safely in the passenger seats, leaning against each other and holding the other's hand tight.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Sorry not sorry. I couldn't be assed to use chapters :p


End file.
